Why do universities internationalize? Organizational reputation and legitimacy

This article investigates the internationalization process in higher education at the institutional level. Drawing on an original perspective informed by organizational theory, we propose two theoretical dimensions of universities' internationalization: international reputation and local legitimacy. Building upon the categorization proposed by Knight (Journal of Studies in International Education 8(1):5-31, 2004), we argue that international reputation and local legitimacy permeate rationales for international institutional development with respect to the different status of a university. Specifically, non-ranked universities do not exploit internationalization benefits to acquire an international reputation, as ranked universities do; rather, they do so primarily to gain legitimacy in the local context. These institutions suffer from higher information asymmetries in disclosing the value of their educational services, and try to provide a signal to students and their families and help them perceive their quality. We make use of explorative case studies referring to two Italian universities highlighting the different reasons universities have to pursue an internationalization strategy. We conclude that universities of different ranking pursue internationalization for dissimilar purposes, either to distinguish at a global level and to secure a place on the national map.